In the afternoon of August 27, the sub-forum “Family Philanthropy and Inheritance” of the 5th Cross-strait and Hong Kong & Macau Regions Philanthropy Forum was held in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Over 10 young philanthropists, representatives from charity organizations, experts and scholars from Cross-strait and Hong Kong & Macau Regions delivered keynote speeches on “Family Philanthropy and Inheritance” and conducted round table dialog.

Round table dialog on “Family Philanthropy and Inheritance”

“Second Generation Philanthropists” are entering the stage of the times 

　　This year marks the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening up. A large batch of private entrepreneurs have grown up along with the reform and opening up. After accumulating a great amount of wealth, they are now facing a common problem, the inheritance of wealth.

　　When the first generation entrepreneurs are gradually moving towards retirement, how should their next generation inherit their undertaking, continue their spirit and reasonably manage the wealth? The emergence of family foundation, charitable trust and other forms provides a solution for this problem and provides more possibilities for the development of philanthropy.

　　Meanwhile, philanthropy industry is also facing the issue of inheritance. How to guide young people to join the industry? What are the characteristics of the philanthropic view of the young generation? These are all issues worth discussing.

　　Therefore, the 5th Cross-strait and Hong Kong & Macau Regions Philanthropy Forum specially set up a sub-forum themed “Family Philanthropy and Inheritance” and invited representatives from LKK Health Products Group Limited, Rockcheck Puji Foundation, Macao Youth Federation, TransFar Foundation, Ting Hsin Foundation, Macao Youth Charity Association, Beijing Sany Foundation, Laoniu Brothers & Sisters Foundation, Shenzhen Charity Federation, Tencent Foundation, Macau Polytechnic Institute, Taiwan Univeristy, University of Hong Kong and other institutions to join the discussion.

Value the inheritance of the spirit of family philanthropy

　　In the new era, young people are facing new challenges and opportunities. How can they continue from the preceding passage and better inherit and carry forward those from the previous generation? In the face of this topic, the participating guests reached a consensus: the first and foremost is the inheritance of spirit.

Zhang Junting, Vice-president and Executive Director of Rockcheck Group and Director of Rockcheck Puji Foundation

　　Zhang Junting, Vice-president and Executive Director of Rockcheck Group and Director of Rockcheck Puji Foundation, thought: “What we need to inherit from the previous generation is diligence, hardworking and wisdom and the mission that belongs to us.”

Niu Ben, Founder and Director General of Laoniu Brothers & Sisters Foundation

　　“The continuance of family values can not only strengthen the cohesion of the whole family. More importantly, I think it can improve the capacity of the family business.” Niu Ben, Founder and Director General of Laoniu Brothers & Sisters Foundation emphasized, “For second generations like us, the most important thing in family philanthropy is inheritance. What is inheritance? It is the wish to pass down the undertaking we are doing from generation to generation and this is also the greatest challenge.”

Liang Zaizhong, Director, Senior Vice-president & Secretary of Youth League Committee of Sany Group and Director General of Beijing Sany Foundation

　　Liang Zaizhong, Director, Senior Vice-president & Secretary of Youth League Committee of Sany Group and Director General of Beijing Sany Foundation, also believed that, at family level, the significance of inheritance was spirit, namely the basic identification with the life philosophy and inspiration the previous generation obtained through persistent hard work.

Wu Zining, Deputy Director General and Secretary General of Macao Youth Federation

　　Wu Zining, young public welfare personage and Deputy Director General & Secretary General of Macao Youth Federation, thought: “Macao Youth Federation is also a large family, because we all have the same idea and believe this kind of spirit can be inherited and expanded to generate light and heat. All the friends in this big family can pass down this kind of spirit to their family and employees through philanthropy.”

Tu Meng, Deputy Director General & Secretary General of TransFar Foundation

　　Only spirit can withstand the test of time and age. “Whether it’s enterprise or family foundation, they are different in the fields of service, the methods of service and the way of capital investment and appreciation. However, there’s one thing in common, that is to pass on the values.” Tu Meng, Deputy Director General & Secretary General of TransFar Foundation, emphasized. 

Have the courage to embrace the new era

　　How will the new generation that has inherited the philanthropic values of the previous generation engage in philanthropy? They have the courage to embrace the new era and are marching towards the path of innovation. 

　　“There is mission and responsibility for each generation. The mode of philanthropy will also vary with time. Most of the first generation entrepreneurs started from scratch and experienced hardships. Their philanthropic moves mainly come from the good intention of giving back to the society. Most of them engage in philanthropy through donating money and materials. However, as second generations, we grew up in a relatively superior family environment. We have received complete education from childhood. What we do is more than making donation, we also want to apply more professional management and new technologies to philanthropy, just like running an enterprise.” Zhang Junting emphasized. 

　　Liang Zaizhong also noticed that: “In the past, many people are doing charity for a good heart. They were doing charity out of the sadness and the saddest ones would get the most. However, the whole logic has started to change.”

　　As first generation of family philanthropy, Niu Gensheng, Founder of Lao Niu Foundation, paid particular attention to this in the process of promoting family inheritance. Niu Ben recalled: “My father used to say professionals should do professional things. In 2011 and 2012, he took my sister and the whole family to conduct exchange and learning in large families with over one hundred years’ history in the United States, hoping that we can learn more about the paths of family inheritance and the management modes of these families, as well as their experience in doing charity. Through learning and exchange, I realized that philanthropy is not only for the rich. More importantly, it’s for people with high aspirations and determination.”

　　Niu Ben also emphasized that he hoped family philanthropy could influence more people around and drive them to engage in philanthropy and allow people with shared vision to integrate resources, unite and cooperate with each other, develop together and jointly promote social progress. 

　　How to become someone with high aspirations and determination in philanthropy? “We encourage young people in Macao to pay more attention to philanthropy and help vulnerable groups. The real purpose here is the hope that they will think more and pay more consideration to the ways of helping others and caring for others’ feeling.” Wu Zining emphasized. 

　　The new generation family philanthropists can not only make donations, but also contribute their innovative thinking and professional ability. They put more emphasis on promoting the development of philanthropy with science and technology. In the new era, they will certainly become the hard core of philanthropy.